Thoughts written by an attorney, re-located in Southern Indiana, Bloomington to be exact, practicing General Civil Litigation, Criminal Defense, Family Law, Landlord/Tenant Law, and Business Organization, who passionately fights for your rights, provides compassionate counsel and affords candid and efficient representation for those times when you need legal assistance

Certifications, Training, Focus Areas and Interests

Lawyers have to maintain Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Training every year. For 13 years, in Missouri, West Virginia, and now, in Indiana, I have kept up with my CLE requirements. The following are the highlights in my training programs, which reveal some of the focuses in my practice thus far, which I believe provide you with important information regarding my background and experience.

2000- 2002

Missouri State Public Defender Yearly Training regarding trial practice, substantive areas of the law, including specialized training in child abuse cases, driving while intoxicated cases (OWI), methamphetamine production cases, as well as general legal principles pertinent to the defense of criminal matters from both fellow public defenders, as well as national speakers

2002

Missouri Office of Prosecution Services Training regarding Domestic Violence case management, the power and control model of domestic violence, and victimless prosecution: prosecuting the case with corroborating evidence, even when a victim fails to appear

2003-2006

Federal Defender CJA panel training sessions regarding Sentencing Guideline updates; Apprendi issues, as well as various sessions regarding Crawford v. Washington and its interplay with the Sixth Amendment right to Confrontation.

General training regarding Blakely and Booker and their impact on Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Federal Criminal Defendants and the potential changes for relevant conduct sentencing in the Federal System

Western Trial Advocacy Institute: http://www.westerntrial.com/ : Attended and graduated from this program, featuring the teachings of Gerry Spence, to enhance trial skills

Federal Defender Training in San Francisco regarding various aspects of Federal Criminal Defense, including updates in the law after Blakely, Booker, and Crawford, as well as updates in technology in trial work

2006-2010

ChildFirst Training (Formerly Finding Words): Received training and certification in ChildFirst interviewing techniques, together with training and multidisciplinary information regarding investigation and best practices in child abuse and child sexual abuse cases

Beyond Finding Words: An in depth follow-up training to the ChildFirst interviewing class wherein investigative techniques were taught in more detail, critical information was provided regarding the effects of poor interviewing of child witnesses in child abuse and child sexual abuse cases, and best practices for investigation were focused on in more detail.

National Association of Attorneys General Training in Technological Crimes, including online sex crimes, child pornography, racketeering and illegal online downloading of music and video

Missouri Office of Prosecution Services Domestic Violence Training, focusing on the specific problems faced in trying and investigating a Domestic Violence Case, together with an analysis of best practices in investigation of the same

Missouri Office of Prosecution Services Sexual Violence Training, focusing on the specific problems faced in trying and investigating a Sexual Violence Case, together with an analysis of best practices in investigation of the same

Missouri Office of Prosecution Law Update Training focusing on various areas of criminal law, including the right to counsel, confrontation rights of criminal defendants, prosecution of driving while intoxicated cases (OWI), as well as issues related to valid stops, when the use of police dogs are admissible and allowable in drug cases, and the implementation of gang tasks forces in prosecution of human and drug trafficking, as well as racketeering cases

2011-present

ICLEF Law Update on Criminal, Family, Estate Planning, Wills and Trust, Guardianship, and general practice